“Approved by voters 53% to 47% on Nov. 2,” California’s Proposition 26 that reclassifies industry fees as “taxes” is “aimed at multibillion-dollar statewide issues such as a per-barrel severance fee on oil and a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases.”

Michael Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, told the commission investigating the spill Tuesday that “efforts to ensure the safety of offshore drilling operations — including hiring new personnel to scrutinize permits and inspect rigs — could fail without more funding.”